imprecate

American  

[im-pri-keyt] / ˈɪm prɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

imprecated, imprecating

1. to invoke or call down (evil or curses), as upon a person.

   Synonyms:

   anathematize, execrate, curse, denunciate

   Antonyms:

   bless

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imprecate British  

/ ˈɪmprɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to swear, curse, or blaspheme

2. (tr) to invoke or bring down (evil, a curse, etc)

   to imprecate disaster on the ship

3. (tr) to put a curse on

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Other Word Forms

• imprecator noun
• imprecatory adjective
• unimprecated adjective

Etymology

Origin of imprecate

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin imprecātus, past participle of imprecārī “to invoke, pray to or for,” equivalent to im- “in” + prec- “pray” + -ātus past participle suffix; im- ¹, pray, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

At other times he would imprecate maledictions upon his head, and curse him as her destroyer.

From The Vampyre; a Tale by Polidori, John William

But now there is scarcely a tongue in all New England that does not imprecate curses on his name.

From Grandfather's Chair by Hawthorne, Nathaniel

To be a thorough expert in dog-training a man must be able to imprecate freely and with considerable variety in at least three different languages.

From The Great Lone Land A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-West of America by Butler, William Francis

He never made man after his own image to imprecate the wrath of heaven by blackening earth with his foul deeds.

From Our World, Or, the Slaveholder's Daughter by Adams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn)

O Man: Pass not all heedless by, nor imprecate This aged relic of the past because It lies across thy path!

From The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 6 by Various